The sex image of a movie star is defined, shaped and promoted, among other things, by the kind–and quality–of the screen ladies he is paired with.
Surprisingly, for the most part, John Wayne’s leading ladies were not Hollywood’s sex goddesses or most beautiful stars.
Gable benefited from his pairing with Jean Harlow (in the 1930s) and Ava Gardner (in the 1950s).
Bogart got extra publicity for teaming with his (much younger) wife, Lauren (The Look) Bacall, in several films; they were known as Bogey and Baby.
Claire Trevor
Early on in his career, in the 1930s and 1940s, a frequent screen lady of John Wayne was the gifted and versatile actress, Claire Trevor, who won the 1947 Best Supporting Actress Oscar for John Huston’s Key Largo.
The Duke made three films with Trevor as his leading lady, “Stagecoach,” “Allegheny Uprising,” and “Dark Command.”
The two appeared together in “The High and the Mighty,” but not as lovers.
Many viewers remember them as a team because of the importance of the 1939 “Stagecoach” to the formation of Wayne’s sex appeal and future career.
Stagecoach: John Wayne Got Cast by John Ford Against All Odds
